LECTURE

 

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Newton-John’s daughter shares singer’s last words as Parton duet released

• Times Colonist
• 18 Feb 2023

Olivia Newton-John had some sweet words shortly before her death, her daughter Chloe Lattanzi shared Friday on Today.

“The last words she could say to me was, ‘My sunshine,” Lattanzi said, sitting down to talk to Hoda Kotb with Newton-John’s widower, John Easterling, six months after the Have You Never Been Mellow singer’s death at age 73. “And right before she lost her ability to speak, she was making jokes.”

Newton-John, who famously starred as Sandy in the 1978 movie Grease, died last August after battling breast cancer off and on for 30 years.

Her loved ones were both visibly emotional talking about her death and her continuing presence in their lives, but Lattanzi said that the wave of love expressed for her late mother has been “a life raft” and “a big hug from the universe.”

“I’m very grateful for all of the people who reached out to us and extended their heart and their connection,” she said.

Easterling said he feels Newton-John everywhere, all the time, whether he’s waking up, going to sleep or throwing a ball with the dog. And he still speaks to her out loud.

The loss is still fresh for Lattanzi as well.

“I love my mom more than anything,” she said, choking up. “She’s my mama, you know? She’s not Olivia Newton-John to me, but I’m so glad that she was Olivia Newton-John for so many people.”

On Friday, a new recording dropped of the Aussie singer performing Jolene in a duet with longtime pal Dolly Parton several months before her death. Easterling, who Newton-John married in 2008, called it “a gorgeous duet.”

“I’m excited,” Newton-John says in the YouTube incarnation of the song. “I’ve always wanted to sing with Dolly.”

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Olivia Newton-John

• Arab News
• 19 Feb 2023

Olivia Newton-John’s family opened up about their struggles after her death last August at the age of 72 following a 20-year battle with breast cancer.

The performer’s daughter Chloe Lattanzi and husband John Easterling told “Today” that love and support from fans around the world helped them through the family tragedy.

“It felt like a big hug from the universe. And I am very grateful for all the people who reached out to us, and extended their heart and their connection,” Lattanzi said. Newton-John may have been an icon for a lot of people, but her daughter said that she was “just a mom whom she loved more than anything.”

The singer’s last words to her were “my sunshine,” she said.

“Right before she lost her ability to talk, she was making jokes,” Lattanzi added. Easterling said that he still felt his wife’s presence, “late at night, early in the morning. I will just be walking around the house or throwing the ball for the dogs and just speaking to her out loud.”